Councilman: Billboard Crackdown Too Hard on Ad Industry

Councilman Bill de Blasio says that because the billboard industry is "synonymous with New York," the Buildings Department should ease up on issuing hefty fines for what he calls minor infractions. De Blasio tells the Daily News, "The fines given to one single billboard can go over $100,000, but the fines issued in the East Side crane collapses were a fraction of that. It's like the world turned upside down." The Buildings Department began cracking down on illegally installed billboards several years ago after community groups pressured the City Council to take action. A spokesman for OTR Media Group, one of the city's major billboard companies, says, "This is the same Buildings Department that should be cracking down on unsafe buildings." But department spokesman Tony Sclafani explains that "illegal signs can pose a danger to the public if not safely installed." The city is currently engaged in a legal battle with billboard companies over the City Council rules, which ad men say are too restrictive and lead to outrageous fines.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on March 3, 2009 1:01 PM

Comments [rss]

Spirit of 76

They should definitely crack down on illegal billboards for safety reasons, but I don't understand some of the hatred of advertising here like [1] [3] and [5] above. Any NYer gets pretty much jaded to outdoor advertising by the time they're five years old. Unless it's really good, you see it then forget it. No big deal.

jt10000

thefacts is right on track.

blablanyc

The city should place billboards on all of the housing projects so we can recoup some of the money we are wasting on them.

Thelonius Funk

I hate all these huge advertisements and billboards. I wish New York outlawed them like they did in Vermont.

Doctor Memory

The classical definition of chutzpah is a man who kills both his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he's an orphan.

Apparently the modern definition of chutzpah is to plaster a city from top to bottom in illegal billboards and posters, and then to resist regulation on the grounds that your illegal ads are "synonymous with the city." Classy!

At least taggers know that they're criminals.

IvoryJive

Feels strange to side with thefacts, but I couldn't agree more. If the billboard industry truly is "synonymous with New York," then we have a serious problem. There is enough visual clutter and corporate encroachment in the public realm as it is. I don't think there's anyone living in this city who thinks more outdoor advertising marring the landscape is a good thing. And please don't cry boo-hoo over 5-figure fines. Those billboards pull that in a month, a week, or in some cases, a day. What should the fine be for illegal billboards that willfully ignore regulations, and generate millions of dollars a year? Ten bucks? I think any outdoor advertising company found in violation three times should be permanently forbidden from any future installations in New York.

thefacts

It would be interesting to check the campaign finance board's database online to see how much the Advertising Industry gave to Di Blasio for his support.

The Voice did an expose on Melissa Katz who introduced legislation to permit ads on scaffolding and the next week received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the billboard industry.

NannyState

Bill de Blasio had better be getting a much fatter envelope at Cipriani because he sure earned ever untraceable banknote in it.

Qraymond

They should enforce these billboards laws, it's out of control. Everywhere you look there's a 70' American Apparel model staring at you blankly.

If only the DOB enforced everything else with such gusto.